RED LENTIL SOUP
Soak 2 cups of Egyptian lentils in water for eight or ten hours, then drain and shake dry. Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and when melted add ⅓ of the lentils and stir well with a flat-ended wooden spoon, letting them cook very slowly; then add another third, and after stirring a few moments, add the remainder. Pour on 6 cups of cooled water in which leeks or onions have boiled, and let simmer for an hour or until the lentils are tender; press through a sieve and return to the fire to reheat. Smooth 1 teaspoon of flour with 1 teaspoon of butter and add to the soup, season with salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg. Instead of the flour and butter 1 well-beaten egg may be vigorously stirred into the soup after removing it from the fire.
If Egyptian lentils cannot be obtained, canned or dried red kidney beans may be substituted.